Family 2015

Family 2015

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Long Days and Short Years

"Enjoy those babies while you can!"  "They grow up so fast!!"  "Before you know it, they'll be on their own!"  "There will come a day when you will wish you had little ones under foot!"

I used to get so sick and tired of people saying these kinds of things to me when my kids were all little.  I would smile and nod and think, "you are crazy.  what do you mean they grow up so fast?  I feel like I have had babies and toddlers for centuries!"

This is not to say I was miserable, I wasn't.  I love my kids and I love being a Mom.  I just could not relate to this quick passing of time idea.

Now I get it.

Time does not pass quickly on a day to day basis, but when you look back, those years certainly do seem fleeting.

My two high schoolers have recently brought home their tentative class schedules for the fall of 2014 for us to look over and approve.  That's right.  I have 2 high schoolers.  My oldest daughter is going to be a senior in the fall.  A senior.  She will graduate from high school and be an adult.  ????  Wasn't she just watching Dora and the Donut Man the other day?

When they were younger, I felt pretty in control and able to keep up with all the goings on in their lives since it was mostly confined to the space in my house.  Nothing really happened that surprised me and there weren't really any challenges that I wasn't quite sure how to handle.

ATTENTION MOMS OF YOUNG CHILDREN: THIS CHANGES!! (Sorry for the yelling, but I wish someone had said that to me 10 years ago.  Or maybe they did and I wish I had listened...)

They have bigger challenges and I have less control.  On the one hand, it's exhilarating to watch them grow and to imagine what their futures will hold, on the other hand, I sort of prefer changing diapers and making bottles.  Almost no guesswork there.

I will end with this:

I am SO glad that we went ahead and "had all those kids" because now even though I have one who is ready to embark on adulthood, I also still have a 1st grader whose biggest concern is whether or not he's on the naughty list.

I will enjoy it while I can.